[nagdu] Acceptance of owner training was

[Tami Jarvis]

Mardi,

I tend to want my dog to be absolutely perfect, more so when I am around 
other guide dogs. I was so uptight about that, I made an early problem 
worse and for awhile was considering that I might not be able to fix it 
and would have to retire my otherwise excellent young dog. So I've 
learned to lighten up some and not let my own emotions affect my dog. 
She's a poodle and super sensitive, so I had to be very zen. Now she's 
an old pro, and I'm experienced, so I don't have to walk around 
practicing my breathing exercises and smiling and all that so much. 
/lol/ She still notices if I'm smiling or not and is perkier, but she 
doesn't get a sad if I forget to paste on my happy face.

I have noticed that for an owner-trainer, the usual scrutiny the general 
public puts on guide dog teams is a little magnified. You know, how some 
folks will watch eagle-eyed for the dog to make a mistake... Which is 
almost certainly not a mistake, but they're sure it must be. The dog 
looks around before maneuvering through a tricky maze. Everybody knows 
guide dogs don't look around! The dog stops at the top of the stairs 
instead of heading right down. Clearly, that dog is not fit to be a 
guide and is going to get the handler killed. When I blithely mention 
that I was the one who trained the dog to stop at the top of the stairs 
and wait until I was ready and she declared us safe to go, then that's a 
sure sign of impending disaster! I will then add that the programs do it 
that way, so I followed their example, I hear a doubtful silence. And so 
on. Usually, I can have Mitzi do something super amazing like turning 
left to guide me elsewhere to change their attitude to the exact 
opposite. /lol/ After a few encounters with such folks, I did start 
worrying less about public perceptions in case of a real mistake. Not 
once has a critic noticed a real mistake, that I can remember. People 
will perceive what they want to perceive, I guess.

In a sense, the same is true when we're working around other guide dog 
teams. If one or more of those with program dogs believe owner-trainers 
just can't do it right, then anything my dog does will be wrong. If she 
does something that is actually a mistake, it is a huge big deal and she 
is a hopeless failure. If one of the other dogs makes the same mistake, 
it is just one of those things. Usually, in a short time, the critics 
will see that Mitzi seems to be well-enough behaved, after all. It is 
possible I haven't done too badly with her, but that's not like other 
owner-trainers... Isn't that nice of them to say? The owner-trainers I 
know, especially of guides, are shining examples that I can only hope to 
try to emulate. So if someone is hoping for me to gush with gratitude at 
their allowing as to how I don't suck like all of those others, they are 
bound for disappointment. They've just insulted not only my good friends 
but my heroes. And their dogs. Deep breath, smile, practice zen... /lol/

I want to be clear that the folks whose negative behavior I am 
describing are a small percentage of whichever population. Most guide 
dog users are accepting or willing to accept if they haven't encoutered 
an owner-trained guide before. If they ask questions to clear up the 
common misperceptions they've picked up, the questions are intelligent 
and respectfully curious. Then we can have a nice comparing of notes and 
tips and tricks, which has been a great way for me to learn to be a 
better handler and to improve my dog's training. They will point out 
mistakes in a helpful way and very often share stories of how they have 
dealt with similar things. In other words, my guide dog is a guide dog 
like theirs, and we all face the same potential pitfalls along with all 
the rest. We're always learning, just like everyone else.

I still wish my dog were perfect and that I was, too. I make fun of the 
guide dog myths, but deep in my heart, I seem to expect my dog to be 
like those mythically perfect dogs, whether I am on the ball or not. 
I've had to learn to have high expectations of her without taking leave 
of reality and to remember to work towards high expectations of myself 
as a handler. I'm coming out of the complacency phase of a first-time 
handler... Things began to go so smoothly, I started spacing off, then 
was surprised to notice my dog was off sniffing. Sigh. I hear that's not 
uncommon, but I get aggravated with myself. Now I'm remembering to pay 
attention again and do my job as a handler and in being guided. Amazing 
how good my dog is when I'm being good. /lol/ In another couple of 
years, I will find out if I've learned anything so that the early career 
of my next guide is smoother. /smile/

Tami



On 07/17/2014 10:03 PM, Mardi Hadfield via nagdu wrote:
> Tracy, I tend to agree  with you.I as an owner trainer have always thought
> that if my dogs acted badly or did not do the job that they were trained to
> do perfectly that I would be so embarrassed that I would not ever take that
> dog out again.My dogs have to be for the most part, perfect in the job they
> do and they better not act badly because that reflects badly on me as well
> as other owner trainers.I feel that my dogs must be at there best when they
> are in harness,because most people do know that I trained them.People will
> scrutinize me more because my dogs are owner trained so I make sure that
> they are perfect.Unfortunately, not all owner trainers feel the same way.I
> have seen some very badly trained dogs and their owners just make excuses
> for their behaviour.Any dog can have a bad day but if that dog acts baDLY
> ALL THE TIME OR MAKES MISTAKES IN THEIR
>